Basics FAQs
Q: ''What is the Otherfaith? Who are the Other People?'' A: The Otherfaith is a new religion. It was born in 2010 out of the Pagan and polytheist movements. It is a modern, urban- and technology-friendly polytheist faith. We worship of a group of new gods known as the Four Gods and revere faeries. “Other People” is the term participants in the Otherfaith can call themselves. The word ‘Otherfaith’ originally comes from the phrase ‘faith of the Other People’. Practitioners may call themselves ‘one of the Other People’, an ‘Other Person’, a ‘member of the Otherfaith’, or a ‘follower of the Four Gods’. Q: ''Who are the Four Gods?'' A: The Four Gods are the family of deities the Other People worship. They are new gods. There are currently seven gods in the family. They are called the Four Gods after the first four gods that revealed themselves. The Four Gods are the Clarene, Ophelia, Laetha, Dierne, Laethelia, Ophelene, and Darren. the Laethelia, Ophelene, and Darren are syncretic deities created from the first Four. It is always possible for new deities to be revealed or spirits to be deified, so we may eventually have a larger group of gods. Q: ''What are ‘new gods’?'' A: New gods refer to undiscovered deities that are just revealing themselves or being born. It may sometimes refer to gods that don’t have historical evidence or folklore attributed to them. All of the gods in the Otherfaith are new gods. Q: ''How do you pronounce the gods’ names?'' A: *Clarene: ‘clare-een’ *Ophelia: ‘oh-fell-ee-ah’ *Laetha: ‘lay-thaw’ *Dierne: ‘deer-een’ *Laethelia: ‘lay-thell-ee-ah’ *Ophelene: ‘oh-fell-een’ *Darren: ‘dare-ehn’ Clarene, Dierne, and Ophelene rhyme. Ophelia, Laetha, and Laethelia rhyme loosely. Q: ''What are the genders of the Four Gods?'' A: This is an incredibly complex question. We tend to refer to the Four Gods with ‘she/her/hers’ pronouns when discussing their basics. The gods have a variety of genders, however. All of our gods are queer and gender variant in some fashion. Q: ''Is the Otherfaith a US religion?'' A: The Otherfaith was created and is based in the United States. It can be considered a US religion because of the many appearances US landscapes make in the Other People’s mythology, and because the gods as they are understood are connected to the US. Q: Is the Otherfaith a US-''only religion?'' A: No. Anyone outside of the US may worship the Four Gods and consider themselves an Other Person. It is encouraged that they worship the Four as the gods present themselves in that individual’s environment. This is not only to create an intimate relationship with the worshiper and the gods, but to deepen our understanding of how the Four Gods manifest in other parts of the world. Q: ''What is Paganism?'' A: Modern Paganism is a term encompasses a variety of religious and spiritual traditions. We recommend reading the Wikipedia page on modern Paganism to better acquaint yourself with the subject, as it describes it better than we can. Q: ''What is polytheism?'' A: Polytheism is the belief in many deities. The People do not feel the need to define polytheism itself further than that, though our own polytheist theology has specific nuances other polytheist religions may not have. Q: ''Is the Otherfaith a Pagan religion?'' A: It can be considered a Pagan religion. It is up to individual Other People whether they identify as Pagan or include the Otherfaith in the Pagan category of religious and spiritual traditions. If Paganism is defined as ‘anything other than Judaism, Christianity, or Islam’ then the Otherfaith could be called Pagan. If Paganism encompasses any polytheist religions, the Otherfaith falls into that definition. It can be considered Pagan as it grew out of the Pagan religious movement and its assorted influences. If Paganism is defined as a nature-worshiping religion, the Otherfaith may not fall into that definition as we do not consider the faith to be foremost nature-worshiping. If Paganism is defined as indigenous or historical religious traditions, the Otherfaith would not be a Pagan religion. If Paganism is defined by generic outer-court Wiccan practices such as circle-casting, Sabbats, esbats, etc. then the Otherfaith does not fall into that definition. The Otherfaith can be considered Pagan because it has roots in the movement, polytheist theology, animist theology, and is influenced by ancient polytheisms as well as the more radical elements of modern Paganism. Q: ''Where can I find lore about the gods?'' A: If you are looking for mythology, we have small mythic stories on our Wordpress. Basic information about the gods (not myths) can be found on our Wordpress as well. Category:FAQ